


This Always Happens to Me, to You, to Us

by maarvehl



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bus Kids - Freeform, Confusion, Fluff, I'm bad at tags, My OC - Freeform, Pain, let fitz be happy, no one knows what's happening most of the time, platonic fitzdaisy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:28:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21924424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maarvehl/pseuds/maarvehl
Summary: *Discontinued-- I'm only keeping this up incase I ever want to revisit the idea and I no longer have the original draft. It was mostly unedited and unplanned, so it might not be the best to read.Basically an alternate framework AU where Daisy was the only one who logged herself in and Jemma was forced in by LMD's. This is my first time posting anything on here so I'm sorry if my tags or notes are messed up. I read a framework au a couple of months ago that got this idea in my head, but I am trying my hardest to not take any of the ideas from it, and I believe I didn't because it's a very different idea.
Relationships: Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie/Yo Yo Rodriguez, Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons
Comments: 3
Kudos: 30





	1. It All Falls Down

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry this chapter is so short! I promise the other chapters will be much longer. The beginning sounds a bit cliche, but it is not like that the entire story.

The day was a mess before it even started. It was her birthday, and her mum was already getting on her nerves. She had sent the final draft of her novel on biochemistry to her editor just hours before her alarm was going off. Bobbi had some sort of surprise planned, which probably meant going out. It almost always meant going out. It was raining, of course. That cancelled out any plans that involved going outside.

The sun shone through a cloud, hitting just the right spot through her curtains and into Jemma’s eyes. She could already hear Bobbi on the phone in the kitchen of the small flat, obviously cooking something. Her laptop was still open on her desk, papers scattered everywhere. She got up and headed into the kitchen. The moment she walked out Bobbi ran over, screaming “Happy birthday,”. Jemma put a hand out, still just waking up. Bobbi was always more excited for Jemma’s birthday than her own, and this was her last one before she turned thirty. After a small exchange of laughs Bobbi ran back into the kitchen, bouncing with excitement at every step she took.

Jemma walked over, looking at the pancakes on the counter. They were either burnt or undercooked, but they would both still eat them. Bobbi’s husband was away at work again, meaning she was in a sort of saddened state. Jemma never could understand her friend, because when her husband was there she wanted to stab him, but when he wasn’t there she was always moping. She walked over to check the pile of mail on the counter, but before she could Bobbi was grabbing it all. “The birthday girl doesn’t do a thing for herself.”, she proudly announced. “I’m turning twenty-nine, not twenty. Your birthdays are always spent watching movies and drinking wine, and I make you get the mail yourself,” Jemma stated.

Bobbi managed to convince her otherwise. They had been at her parents the entire day before, so Jemma was almost tired of them. She loved them of course, but she wasn’t a little girl anymore. She had seen the pile of nice clothes laid out on Bobbi’s bed the night prior. That was not reassuring in her carefully planned day for relaxing. It was the one day she got an excuse to do whatever she wanted, and she wanted to sleep in. Yet it was already nine-o-clock and she had been up half of the night submitting her non-fiction novel. Bobbi was desperately looking for a job close to where Hunter, her husband, was located. They had been living separately for months now as he relocated so often. Yet when he finally found a permanent place she was already committed to a yearly lease with Jemma.

As they ate their pancakes Bobbi was going on about how fun the day would be. Jemma still didn’t know what these ‘fun’ plans were, but the two girls had very different ideas of fun. Jemma would’ve found it fun if she got enough money to afford the biochem technology she wanted, but everyone else found that too boring. A magazine sat in front of her, displaying Alistair and Leopold Fitz. She could never explain it, but every time she saw the younger man her heart skipped a beat. He was known to the public as a vile and cruel man. Both Fitz’s were. But their inventions were amazing, so as long as they didn’t violate the law nothing was wrong. People still bought into the whole thing. Leopold hardly put any of his personal life into the media, and the few times where people would ask he constantly snapped at them. So there was no reason for her to feel so lovesick every time she saw the man, but she did.

As she flipped through the magazine, she saw another man, Holden Radcliffe. He was much more well known and respectable. Jemma only saw him as a delusional rich man who would do anything to get the public to like him. Bobbi never understood her hate for him, he completely revolutionized modern medical technology. The magazine went on to speculate about if the engineers were in cahoots with Hydra. Any well known scientist was, but Leopold and Radcliffe had never proven affiliation. Alistair had spoken about how he agreed with their products, and him and his son did everything together. Jemma pushed the magazine away, stabbing her pancakes more violently than she meant to. Once Bobbi saw her sudden anger, she finally started to ramble about Jemma’s surprise.

“So, Hunter apparently made a new friend in Perthshire,” she said smiling. She expected Jemma to know immediately, but at her friends confused face decided to go on, “And his friend got him tickets to a big scientist party thing. He also managed to get two extra, and you’ll never guess when the party happens to be.”

“Bobbi, you did not,” Jemma said, standing up. “Yes I did. Mr. Fitz’s party, with a bunch of scientists with IQ’s almost as high as yours,” she finished. “They could be Hydra!”, Jemma yelled, but the excitement on her face was obvious. “So could Hunter,” the blonde replied nonchalantly. Jemma looked at her friend, widening her eyes. She did not like Hydra. “I’m joking, dear god who do you think he is? I may not know exactly what he does but he’s not Hydra,” Bobbi finally answered. Jemma put her hand over her heart, having to calm down after the scare that gave her.

She ran to her room to throw whatever she needed into her small duffle bag. They would only stay one night there, but she needed several clothing items. She made sure to pack the nicest thing she owned, which was a deep pinkish-red jacket. It was formal but comfortable, and had stitched patterns all over it. It didn’t look like much but it was expensive. Other than that she just packed the rest of a formal outfit and comfortable clothes. She made sure to stuff her laptop into the duffle bag before zipping it shut. It was only a short drive, but she wanted to do her research on who would be at the event.

She sat in the car, staring at her computer screen. Bobbi heard her mumbling. “What ‘cha mumbling about?”, she asked. “Some of the names on here are so odd. N.J.F., as in just this persons initials. I feel like that wouldn’t be allowed. Or Skye. Just Skye, no last name,” she shut her computer as they came up to the exit. They had plans to check into their hotel so they could get ready, but they would be on a time crunch with only two hours to spare. The event was just across the street from the hotel, but it still complicated things.

They both rushed inside to get ready. The room had been so clean and pristine before they got in, but it immediately turned into a train wreck. Bobbi was making her outfit a big deal because it was the first time Hunter was seeing her in some time. Jemma knew she would be the only one occupying the hotel after the party, but she didn’t mind. She also suspected Bobbi would leave shortly before her, which is exactly what happened. She seemed to feel bad considering it was Jemma’s birthday, but going to the party itself was exciting enough for her. She was just hoping they would have a lab she could mess around in. She loved experimenting in them whenever she could get close to one. She used to work at one, but if she did create or discover something she wouldn’t get credited due to their contract. That was a complete dealbreaker for her.

She stared at herself in the mirror. She felt it again. That feeling where a chunk of her was missing. Like something just wasn’t right. She always felt it whenever she had free time alone. When she was younger she would pretend it was déjà vu, but when she went into a lab for the first time and felt incomplete she tossed that theory aside. She went on to think it was just her not knowing what to do with her life yet. She had written a book, and was so close to having it approved. What more could she want? Nothing ever felt right. She looked in the mirror and for a moment felt huge pain on her forehead, but there was nothing there. It was probably just the stress of hoping her book would finally be published. She turned to leave, but looked back at the mirror one last time. There it was again, that pain on her forehead. She finally turned and left.

Just as she opened the door a women stood there, her hand reached out in a knocking position. She was wearing a black jacket, and she had dark longish hair. Her eyes were brown, and she had a huge smile on her face. Jemma had never seen this woman in her life, but she felt so connected to her. She didn’t have time to process this before the lady threw her arms around her.


	2. If You Tell Me the Truth, You Won't Have to Remember Anything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the other end of the framework Leopold Fitz isn't having that good of a life, either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a lot more confident in this chapter than the last one! It's longer than the first one, as well. I tried my best to write the characters realistically and give them dialogue they would actually say.

It was early. Way too early to be up. It was pouring outside, but that was normal. Holden was in America for a couple of days with Agnes. The lab was already a mess, with prototypes everywhere. There was a spill of some sort of chemical in the corner. It was probably from him the night before, but he was delusional. After he found out about the newest allegations and theories about him being in cahoots with Hydra, he drank a little too much and tried to work on their prototypes. He dreads the hour when his father comes in and reprimands him. Even if it is his fault for getting this idea in the public eye. His father adds to one of the many reasons he hates the media. He didn’t hate it quite as much before Hydra, but they sold their lies to reporters and now they are everywhere.

There was an event his father had planned months ago that he now had to attend. It was in two days, and nothing made him as bored as these events where he talked to every boring reporter or scientist. The scientists hardly ever had potential, they were just people who knew people who knew people that could get tickets. He heard that there was even Hydra agents coming to this one. Some of them weren’t even scientists, just field agents who wanted to know the truth.

Leo looked through the list of names, still waiting for his angry father to burst into the room. Some of them didn’t even have full names, or they were just requirements. He found a piece of paper and scribbled down ‘to come to events you must list full name’. He had a bad habit of writing things on papers then throwing them around, which was probably how the lab got so messy the night before. He should be cleaning it up, desperately trying to avoid his fathers punishment. But he truly didn’t care that much anymore.

He gave up on trying to please his father a long time ago. People saw them as a duo, but nothing disgusted Fitz more. If Holden wasn’t so close with Alistair then he would consider him a father figure, but Holden would probably slip up and tell Alistair. He always told him everything, so trying to keep a secret was impossible. Even if it nearly destroyed Leopold’s relationship with him a number of times. Nothing was more important but pleasing Alistair Fitz.

Leopold knew for a fact that his father was working with Hydra. When he figured that out, he took a step back. Alistair doesn’t know that he figured it out, but it wasn’t that hard. Unfortunately for Leopold, the public doesn’t know that he took a step back. He doesn’t tell the public anything. He never regretted it until he saw that magazine, saying that he was affiliated with Hydra. More lies, and now Hydra would approach him and try to make it a real thing. He would never give into it. Yet, that’s the worst part. He’s heard of what they did. How they would make certain people, innocent people with actual lives, work for them. They would threaten the people they care about. Except for Leopold, he mostly cares about people as a whole. He would be devastated if any of his family, including Holden, died. But he knows they would get him to obey by anonymously attacking the public. Taking innocent lives who had no part in this. That’s how they would get him to work for them, and it would work.

That was definitely what all of the agents at this event were for. He would love to make a public statement, but they would make their attack. And innocent lives would be lost because of him. Of course the only time he would purposely speak to the media he can’t without people dying. Which he would never allow if he can stop it. 

He continued to look at the list of names, mentally narrowing down all of the Hydra agents. He continued to narrow it down to non-scientist agents. Twelve Hydra field agents would be there. He knew they wouldn’t launch an attack with his father there, but that was too much for negotiations. Something else was at play here, but he had no idea how to figure it out. And he sure as hell wasn’t asking his father.

After three hours of Leo obnoxiously waiting, Alistair Fitz finally stomped in. He walked in, slamming two prototypes off of the table. He may be mad, but that was uncalled for. If they broke it could put them months behind (Leopold knows he’s better than that, but his father doesn't believe that). He stood up, but his fathers hand went out. It may have just been him holding out his hand in a stopping motion, but it scared Leopold. He was waiting for his father to lash out. Only a couple of minutes felt like hours to Leopold. Finally, Alistair walked out. He took the only prototype left on the table, along with all of the notes on it. And suddenly, Leo was left alone to sit there and stress about what his father is thinking.

Leo may still be scared of what his father will do when he’s mad, but he isn’t scared of him. He never knew what allowed that fear to go away. He was terrifying, and always berated Fitz. Yet, after everything, Fitz had no fear of the man himself. He was a pathetic drunk who only achieved fame through Holden and Leo. Maybe that was why Leo had stopped craving praise from his father. Even more, he didn’t need it anymore. His mother said when he stopped trying to please his father he became a much better person. Yet he would still never purposely make him mad. Not until last night, when people actually thought he could be related to Hydra.

That magazine made him realize these allegations hadn’t just started in the magazine. When he searched up his name he could find articles as far back as six months previous that speculated about it. And when Alistair made the claim about how great Hydra is, the articles spiked. That infuriated Leo beyond relief. 

He was mentally trying to work out what really happened the night before, and what actually drove him to make such a mess of the expensive lab. The lab was his favorite place, no matter how messy it always was. He wouldn’t let Holden touch a single sticky note. His father didn’t listen to him anyways, so he didn’t try.

After several hours, he heard someone walking down the hall. Leo had been fixing the prototypes and even made changes for the better. He expected his father to walk in, but instead it was Holden. Leo stood up, patting his good friend on the back. He looked lost in space, and something was definitely bothering him. Leo apologized for the mess, but as always Holden didn’t mind. He walked straight to the computer and checked the guest list for the party. He was cursing under his breath, and knocked down the realistic hand prosthetic sitting on the table. Leo had just finished the final repairs to the many previous damages in the past day.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! I just fixed that,” Leo yelled. He rushed to pick it up, as if getting it off the ground faster would stop the damages. Holden looked back, finally snapping back to reality. Leo was checking frantically checking the arm for damages. Holden looked around for a moment before going back to the computer. Holden pulled up the full guest list and began looking for a specific name. Once Leo realized how manic his friend seemed, he walked over. Holden scrolled down just a little more, finally getting to the ’s’ column. The list was alphabetized, of course. Holden backed up and slammed his fist onto the table. Leo wasn’t sure what made his friend so mad, but it was rare that he would get like this. And most of the time it was a project setback or he made Agnes mad. Leo suddenly remembered that she should also be back, so where was Agnes? Yet he quickly forgot about her when he heard Holden cursing under his breath.

“I know, the amount of Hydra agents is worrying,” Fitz said, expecting that to be his friends problem.

“Oh, right. Yeah. This, um, Skye no-last-name girl, was she on the list before?”

“No. I know, the fact that she has no last name listed makes me so angry. This isn’t some college party.”

“Yea, but when did she get put onto the list,” Holden asked. He walked back to the computer and began to scroll up, looking for another name.

“I dunno, recently,” Leo responded. His friend was being very weird. It didn’t seem to have anything to do with his fathers anger, either. Holden slammed his fist onto the table again, knocking a few things off. Fitz raised his hands up, rushing to pick the items up again, “What the bloody hell?”

“Is there a way to check when names were added,” Holden asked. He wasn’t paying attention to Leo at all.

“Yeah, just click on it.” Holden did just that, clicking on the name. He bit his cheek, anger flooding through him. This was not good.

“Jemma Simmons? Who’s that, it sounds familiar,” Leo said as he looked at the name on the screen. Holden didn’t respond, he only stared at it. The name had been added three days previous, as was the name Skye. There was no doubt in Holden’s mind that this was a coincidence.

A couple of hours had passed since Holden’s outburst. He didn’t tell Fitz anything, but he did help him clean up the lab. He was strangely quiet and stuck in his head. Fitz gave up trying to get him to speak after just a couple of minutes. Holden had left immediately after they cleaned up. Fitz finally left the lab that he had been in all day. He wasn’t sure why, but he couldn’t get the name Jemma Simmons out of his head. It sounded so familiar. Maybe she was someone he went to school with, but he never really had friends. He couldn’t tell anyone a single name of his classmates. He had met a lot of people. That tends to happen when you’re famous, as he’d learned. Throughout the entire day, he could not get the name out of his mind.

Alistair was going on a business trip, and would no longer be at the event. He tried to get Holden to go with him, but Holden was loyal to Fitz. He would always be. A.I.D.A. was enraged when she found out Daisy must have logged in. Holden couldn’t do anything but be her pawn, but he was trying to be there for Fitz. He thought having his father would be best for him, but it was the opposite. He was surprised to see that if Jemma’s life didn’t have Fitz, her biggest regret would be joining SHIELD. It scared Holden, how easy the agency fell without any of their best agents rebuilding it. 

The one thing he didn’t tell AIDA, or Ophelia as she was called in the framework, was that there was a resistance. A small group of people who were fighting Hydra. It was the one hope for this world he was cursed to live in forever. He just had to hope his former friends would find their way there, and hopefully out of this hellhole.

The event was only getting closer, and the closer it got the more uneasy it made Leo. Hydra was planning something, and it wasn’t just them asking Leo to join them. Alistair wasn’t even going, so it couldn’t be them protecting him. He had been racking his brain for what they could be doing, but none of the options seemed safe. He couldn’t even tell Radcliffe because he would tell Alistair. And now that his father was actually gone Leo did not want to mess that up. 

Leo never actually had anyone other than his father and Holden. He kept his distance from his mother so Alistair wouldn’t speak to her. He was never really able to make friends in school, either. He skipped so many grades and was never on the same level as any of his classmates. He didn’t like communicating about his emotions that much, and it wasn’t like he really had anyone to communicate with. With no one to communicate with he couldn’t tell people that he was actually scared. He didn’t want this event to be a disaster. He didn’t care for his public image, or even how mad his father got. He was terrified that there would be a public attack. He hardly even cared for his own life. Just the people who would be at the event. They were regular citizens with normal lives. A bunch of no good scientists who could die. None of them deserved that.

It was the middle of the night and he was finally back at his house. He hadn’t eaten all day and forgot to pick up dinner. He was trying to focus on a new idea but couldn’t think. There was too much on his mind, between the event, Hydra, and that name. He truly could not get it out of his head. Jemma Simmons. It seemed so important, like something he should be remembering. He was broken out of his thoughts when someone knocked on the door. He was cautious about it, scared of who would be behind it. When he opened it the only person there was Holden, holding Chinese takeout.

He walked in, smiling. He was always in a good mood when he had food. Whatever was bugging him earlier no longer seemed to be there. He set the bags on the counter, taking everything out. Leo just stood there, still lost in his thoughts. Holden was talking about Agnes, but he might as well have been talking to himself. He finally noticed Leo’s discomposure he stopped speaking. He waited in silence for how long it would take his friend to snap out of it. Finally, after almost a minute of waiting, Leo noticed. “Yeah?”, he asked.

“Somethings bothering you, yeah?” Holden asked.

“Yeah.” Fitz replied solemnly.

“Well, my boy, come out with it.” 

Leo didn’t know if he should tell Holden his worries about Hydra, or the thing that was bugging him most. It was just a name, it meant nothing. He wanted to say it was someone from the last event, but she wasn’t on the list. He looked her up online, and again found nothing. He wasn’t sure what he was missing. Holden would tell Alistair about the Hydra issue anyways, and there was no reason to keep how Leo felt about a single name from him. It wasn’t going to affect anything.

“The one name, from the guest list. The one, that uh, you seemed worried about. Jemma Simmons. Ever since I saw it I can’t get it out of my head. I have no idea why, I don’t believe I’ve ever met a Jemma Simmons. And she hasn’t been on any other guest lists for events and she isn’t someone who pops up online. I just, I can’t get it out of my head,” Leo practically poured his heart out. He never spoke much about his personal thoughts to anyone, so it was odd. He only ever spoke that much about a project or when he drank too much. The moment he finished speaking he furrowed his brows, confused at himself. Was he that desperate to find out about a random name? It was a lovely name, but that couldn’t be it. It just rolled off of his tongue as if he had said it a thousand times, and it made no sense.

Holden was slightly in shock. Would this be all it took for Fitz to wake up? AIDA may go to extreme measures if she finds out. Yet he didn’t seem to be completely himself. But if so much as seeing Jemma’s name messed him up this badly, Holden could only imagine what would happen when they actually saw each other at the party. He wanted this world to be better for them, but it was only worse. So he wanted them to get back to their real lives. But he was also scared of AIDA.

“Wow. I, honestly, don’t know what to say. Maybe you have met her?”, was the only thing Holden could say.

“I think I’d remember that if I’m so hung up on her name alone.”

“Well, you’ll see her at the party.”

“There’s no way to know what she looks like,”Leo stated firmly.

“I think you’ll know,” Holden finally came up with something to say that wasn’t a complete lie to this man.

“That’s ludicrous. I think I’ll check the archives tomorrow.”

He did check the archives. He wasn’t in the mood to hack into restricted files however, so he found nothing. Holden would’ve been mad, too. But he was being very odd about this whole thing. The thing that seemed to bother him most was that the names were added last minute, but that was no big deal. This should’ve made him even more worried for the event, but it almost did the opposite. He was excited to meet the woman that had been plaguing him for almost two days. He looked at the clock. He had sixteen hours until the event. He was going to meet Jemma Simmons and find out why her name alone bothered him so much. He just had to wait sixteen long hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter should be up in a couple of days! Happy holidays :)


	3. I Thought I'd Have You... But I'm All Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy wants her team back, enough to cause chaos for a specific agents life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter gives a bit of backstory on how this story diverges from canon. There's quite a bit of angst in here ;)

Daisy thought fighting her way through a bunch of robots that looked like her friends would be the hardest thing she would have to do that day. The moment she logged into the framework she found out exactly how wrong she had been. She woke up with Ward, and they were both Hydra. She found out that SHIELD had fallen and Hydra was hunting inhumans or anyone with inhuman DNA. Which left her with the question of why wasn’t she being tortured and experimented on, but there were more important matters. She had to find her team. She felt most in debt to find Jemma, the one she left behind moments before.

_“Jemma!”, Daisy was yelling. Somehow the LMD’s she had destroyed minutes before had gotten themselves fixed. May’s LMD was waiting for them to get in the air to blow the place. It was all her fault, Jemma had been helping her up. She went back to grab something, Daisy didn’t even know what, and then there was a scream. Piper and the other two agents with her were helping Daisy up. Jemma and the LMD’s were already out of eyesight, but Daisy was still trying to run back. Davis was holding her back. She needed to go help them. She had too. This was her fault, she was the one too injured. She wasn’t even aware of what she was saying. She just needed to help her. She must have had enough strength left. May’s LMD could hold off the explosives. She must have just seen them go inside. “No, I can help her! I need to!”, she finally heard her own words. She was desperate. She would not let Jemma be taken. They had been through all of this together. She couldn’t let her be taken after all of it. After everything they had fought for. “Daisy, you’re too injured. You don’t stand a chance. You barely beat them—“, Piper was cut off, “No! I have to help her! We can’t leave her behind, we can’t!”, was the last thing she heard herself yell. Pain was setting in, and they had to go. She finally went slack against Piper, with them helping her into the Zephyr. Davis must have already gone in, because they were immediately lifting off of the ground. She was leaving Jemma behind. She would never forgive herself. She could have beat them, she should have._

She wouldn’t forgive herself until she saved Jemma. She wanted to make it her personal goal to get to Jemma first, but after some research she found out that her friend was in England. Of course she was. Daisy was shocked that she never joined SHIELD. None of them had. Coulson, Mack, Fitz, Jemma, and her had never joined. She ended up in Hydra through the rising tide, and then met Ward who had apparently been in SHIELD for a long time. That was no shock to Daisy. Coulson was a teacher within an hour from them, so the minute she had free time that’s where she went. He didn’t believe her. He didn’t recognize her, and he thought she was crazy. He would’ve called the authorities on her, but he strangely didn’t. It almost made her think that a small part of him remembered.

After that she had to deal with a lot more of Ward. But she easily got a plane ride to an event held over in Britain. That event happened to be hosted by Leopold Fitz. On the plane ride over she was making her plan. It wasn’t until she found out just how many Hydra agents would be there. They wouldn’t tell her the plan yet, but they would ‘when they needed to’. She hoped that would be soon. 

She did a large amount of research and located Hunter. She smiled when she saw he was married to Barbara Morse, and smiled even more when she found out Bobbi was roommates with Jemma. She knew Jemma’s birthday was coming up, and easily knew if she got close enough to Hunter that he would take her three ‘extra’ tickets to the event and give them to his wife and her good friend. The plan was easier than she thought it would be, and everything slid right into place. However she hadn’t slept in a day and she was wearing thin. Something was bound to go wrong and she was tired of waiting for it. Nothing ever worked this well.

Of course the one thing that she absolutely needed out of that entire plan to go right was Jemma remembering her. Or at least before the event to have some recollection of her, Fitz, or anyone on their team. She didn’t even need to her remember everything, just one little detail that Dr. Jemma Anne Simmons could never consider a coincidence. She knew she was still a scientist, with several PhD’s and was considered a doctor. No fake world could ever change her philosophies. But taking Fitz out of her life could, and that’s what Daisy was most worried about.

She stood in front of the door for a short moment, unsure of why she was nervous. This was Jemma. Jemma and her were close, and had been through a lot before being plugged in. But neither May or Coulson had remembered her. That was terrifying enough. But Jemma, who had been through so much, she had to remember. If she didn’t remember Daisy there was still a little bit of hope. That hope involved waking Fitz and Simmons up. She finally sat there, ready to knock. She had a strict plan on what to say and how not to sound crazy. Not that it had worked so far. She reached her hand up to knock, but just before her fist hit the door it swung open.

Immediately a wave of emotions flooded in. Last time she had seen Jemma they were both in awful shape. Last time she had seen Jemma she was held by two LMD’s who were stronger than the two of them combined. Last time Jemma had seen her she was letting her be taken away to be thrown into a virtual prison against her will. Daisy immediately forgot her entire plan. A huge smile broke out on her face immediately at seeing her friend healthy and perfectly okay. She looked more than okay. She had on a fancy outfit that Daisy could’ve sworn she’d seen before. Her hair was nicely curled and she had on heels. Jemma Simmons wearing actual heels. Daisy never thought she would see the day.

Without thinking, Daisy threw her arms around Jemma. She immediately felt her tense up, but she didn’t care. Daisy’s eyes were watering and it was taking everything to not break down in the confused girls arms. She finally let go of her, quickly wiping away one of the tears that escaped her eye. One of Jemma’s eyebrows were raised, and she almost looked scared. 

“Do I know you?”, she asked. A little bit of Daisy crumbled inside. She knew immediately that Jemma didn’t remember her because of the look on her face. Yet, somehow, she looked more carefree. Like not being in the field everyday actually had an impact on her. There were small wrinkles that showed she smiled a lot more than she did in the real world. For a moment she wanted to walk away and pretend she never knew her. Let her continue a happy life. But she knew that wasn’t an option. Besides, she believed that Jemma Simmons would never be happy without Leopold Fitz by her side. She would say the same for him.

“Yea, um, actually you do. And I need your help.”, Daisy told her. Jemma’s eyes widened and she seemed to feel bad for the stranger. For a moment Daisy thought she remembered, but the hesitant way Jemma opened the door wider showed she was wary of her. She walked in, smiling lightly. Jemma walked in after her and Daisy heard the door shut. She made sure not to come armed. Daisy looked around for a moment. The room was a mess, with two duffle bags tossed onto the beds and clothes scattered all around the room. There was a magazine on the further bed, and it had Fitz and Radcliffe on the front. Daisy walked over and picked it up, shocked at the fact that Fitz looked the same but based on her research was so different. Radcliffe was the exact same, however. It disgusted her to even see him.

“So? You said you knew me and needed my help and then just welcomed yourself into my hotel room.”, Jemma asked more than stated.

“Yeah. I know you don’t remember me, but I need you to.”, Daisy pleaded.

“Oh, okay. Yeah. Please tell me it wasn’t school, I was a bloody mess.”

“What, wait—never mind. No, it wasn’t from school. I, oh you’ll think I’m crazy.”, Daisy slammed her palm onto her forehead. Jemma took a step back. She was beginning to question this woman’s sanity.

“Look, just, tell me your name.”, Jemma said cooly.

“Right. I’m Daisy Johnson. Or Skye. Whatever triggers that memory in your head, right?”, she tried to make a joke.

“I’m Jemma. I’m afraid I still don’t remember you. Are you sure I’m the right person? How did you find my hotel anyways?”, she was beginning to question Daisy’s motives, which was not good.

“Don’t worry about that. There are more important things. Look, there is no easy way to say this. Let me start with, uh, this, magazine! Leopold Fitz, right? What do you know about him?”, Daisy improvised.

“Oh, he’s a billionaire. Possibly affiliated with Hydra, but I doubt that. He’s a revolutionary. I was kind of obsessed with him a couple of years back.”

“Yes! You see, you were obsessed with him because it’s in your nature! It’s your memories, part of you remembers him but not the memories itself!”, Daisy bursted out. 

Jemma stepped back again at that outburst. To her it was completely gibberish. Her nature? She remembers him, but not the memories? What was that even supposed to mean? She was about to kick the delusional woman out when she spoke again.

“Look. I know it sounds crazy. But, has any part of you ever felt incomplete?”, Jemma’s jaw dropped at the accuracy of the statement, “Like something, or someone is missing? Like at some point you took a wrong turn in your life and should be somewhere else?”, Daisy finished.

“How, how would you know that? It’s probably just of instability in my life. I don’t have a boyfriend and haven’t for a couple of years. I don’t have a stable job and am depending on my so far unsuccessful novel to make money. Nothing in my life is stable. That’s what the feeling is, and probably why you feel it too.”, Jemma’s voice raised with every word she spoke. She got worked up about it, not liking how accurate Daisy’s depiction was.

“Look. I know you live off of facts. I know you probably want to kick me out or call the cops. But I also know that you are Jemma Anne Simmons and this is a virtual world. I know I let you down and let you get taken to be inserted into this horror show. And I know that somewhere deep down you know it too. And I know that you don’t believe me and I sound crazy, but I do not care. The love of your life is waiting at that event and I need your help to wake him up, but I can’t do that before you wake up!”, this time Daisy was yelled. She was out of breath by the time she finished talking and when she looked up Jemma was backed up against the wall. 

“That’s crazy. That is impossible. I have no other life. And, I have no love of my life. This is my life. With my parents and Bobbi and her husband and my unsuccessful book. It may be sad but I can live with the truth.”, when Jemma finished Daisy was on the verge of tears.

“Happy birthday, Jemma.”, she said softly, “I hope it’s not your birthday in the real world. I don’t want you to be in this much pain on a day so important to you, to us. To our team. You should be with Fitz right now.”

Jemma’s head flew up again. She watched Daisy cry, gripping the magazine so hard it crinkled. 

“What?”, she asked.

“You heard me. You’ll never believe me. Go to your event. I have to be there anyways.”, Daisy said sadly.

“Why do you have to be there?”, Jemma asked, “Because I’m a stupid Hydra agent.”

Jemma’s head flew up and her eyes widened. She grabbed the pen on the nightstand. Her hand was shaking so hard she couldn’t hurt a fly.

“No, no, no. I hate Hydra. We all do in the real world, Jemma. We’re SHIELD agents. It never fell there. And we saved the world. And we lost people. And we’ve seen aliens and it is scary but we do it. And sure, you’ve seen the bottom of the ocean and I lost the one person I loved in a special way but we still do it. And that is why I won’t stop fighting for you all to come back. You, Fitz, Coulson, May, Mack, and Mace. I will not stop fighting.”, when she finally finished her face was soaked with tears. She wasn’t angry. Jemma truly was happy here. She may not have everything she wants, but she isn’t facing death everyday.

“I could never be an agent of anything. If science can’t even prove it, that is the reason I will stand by for why this is all make belief. I’m scared of everything. I will not go near the ocean, and hardly even pools. I can’t handle confrontation. I couldn’t even call the cops when I watched someone steal something right in front of me. I’m too damn scared. Make up excuses, but that is me. I can’t handle anything. . Especially not being a damn agent. And you saying I would actually be with Leopold Fitz— I could never. He is a genius and prodigy who was actually brave enough do something with his life. He is everything I am not. But I’m still going to that event, and I’m still going to meet him and say everything I can about what I do and what I’ve written. So get out and go do your evil job as Hydra. Tell yourself whatever you want to cope with the horror you do everyday. I will be here, living my life in fear.”, she said and opened the door. She stood there, holding it open for Daisy.

Daisy dropped the crumpled magazine. She took another look at the picture of Fitz, looking stern and serious. She finally walked out the door, wiping at her tear stained face. She weapon the gun that she had discarded a couple of feet down, then walked off. 

What was she going to do now? Was she supposed to go to this event and carry out whatever awful act Hydra was going to make her do? She would have to. She would have to hope she made some impact on Jemma. And if she didn’t, that her and Fitz would have an impact on each other.

——

What was Jemma supposed do? Agree with her? The whole story was ludicrous. Not a single part of it made sense. If she really dug deep into her knowledge of engineering and science she could possibly find a way that a virtual world would work. But that was very difficult and stupid anyways. And no other aspect of the story made sense. The part that bugged her the most was the idea of her being an agent of SHIELD. She could never do something like that. She meant it when she said that she was scared of everything. 

The minute Daisy walked away Jemma turned back into her room and blinked back tears. She wasn’t sure why she wanted to cry. A lot had just happened. She couldn’t wrap the idea around her head. Her instinct was to deny it, which she was. She had too. This story was impossible. There was no world where she was in love with Leopold Fitz. And no world where she was close with this woman. There is no ‘real world’ that is completely different. She was already in the real world. She was going to keep her word and go to the event. She wanted to meet Leopold Fitz. It was her dream ever since she saw him in a magazine. She had originally found him dreamy, but then discovered everything else he stood for and did. Nothing was going to stop her from meeting him. Especially not some crazy woman who somehow figured out her birthday. She wanted to be early to the event, but was now late. She spent way too much time stressing about a woman who was probably a pothead.

It didn’t take much time to get from her hotel to the event. It took her longer to actually find the room she needed to get to than actually walking over. Which was a very good thing considering the fact that it was pouring out and she had no umbrella. By the time she got there her hair was soaking wet. She tried her hardest to make sure no water got on her face and her makeup wouldn’t run, but she had to check anyways. It was just another delay before she got there.

At this point it might as well be over with how late she is. It wasn’t like the event didn’t have hours left and would go well into the night, it was just that to Jemma Simmons being on time was being late. Punctuality was everything to her. She doubted Ms. Daisy Johnson could tell her that much.

She finally got to the room that several people carefully directed her to. There was no clear way to get there. It was like a maze in there. She was close to panicking at one point, but she let the words of Ms. Johnson get into her head again. Somehow it calmed her. She wanted more than anything to forget them. There was no point dwelling on the impossible. But somehow her words guided her through the corridor without having a panic attack. It wasn’t even the idea that this entire world was fake. It was the idea that somehow, somewhere, in a made up world by a pothead, she was brave. Brave enough to make a difference in that made up world. So she could get through a confusing building. 

When she finally did get in there was a line. Of course there was. It would probably take about five minutes based on the rate they were going. They were asking for ID’s and tickets. It was just a geeky party so it seems unnecessary to have all of this, but she could care less. She was bouncing on her toes in excitement already.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry! I love Jemma and I hate that I gave that awful flashback in the beginning but it was the only way I think Daisy would have been able to get out of the playground and insert herself. I don't believe she could've figured everything out under the stress by herself, so I couldn't make Jemma an LMD from the start. I know this chapter is very angsty, and I promise the next one won't be as angsty. It may take a bit of time to get the next one out, so I apologize for that!


	4. It's All Fun and Games Til' Somebody Loses Their Minds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the event everyone's been waiting for two people finally meet again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so fun to write! I put some hints in their dialogue to the show/their real lives, but some may not be so obvious. Sorry this chapter is shorter, I'm trying to make them longer but I've been traveling so it's hard. I also want to say that the chapter name is from Taylor Swift's song, Wonderland. It seemed perfect for this story!

Leo was constantly running over to see who had been checked off of the list. He wanted to find Jemma Simmons, more than anything. The long buildup only intensified his need to find her. He wasn’t sure why, but the more time that passed the more he wanted to find out. Maybe it was his desperation that caused it, he had no idea. It wasn’t like he was tearing his hair out. If he tried he could focus on other things. But the minute he got a second to think, suddenly she was all that was on his mind. And so far he had spent the entire event looking to see if her name had been crossed off.

Holden obviously picked up on this, but he said nothing. It was almost like he was enjoying it. The thought alone angered Fitz, but he distracted himself by talking to the boring scholars who were already there. None of them interested him in the slightest. He was looking around at the people everywhere. Every time any of them saw him they would gawk, but he just merely glanced at them. He may be used to it but it didn’t mean he didn’t hate it. The way they all acted like he was someone more special then all of them was ridiculous to him. Sure, he had a much higher IQ and was more successful. And sure, half of them couldn’t keep up with him. But that should push people away, not bring them closer. Still, every once in awhile he would pick someone to talk to. Or they would pick him, which was more annoying than it sounded.

He set down his glass, ready to go check the guest list again. Just as he was about to walk up and look, a woman appeared in front of him. She had brown hair and eyes, and was dressed much less formal than everyone else. She was partially wet and had probably been walking through the rain. He saw the wet foot prints left behind from soaking wet heels. She was smiling, but looked timid. Her eyes were wide, just like everyone else’s were when they met him. But the rest of her face said something else. She seemed shocked, but also comfortable to be near him. She wasn’t tense at all.

What surprised him most was how being near her put him at ease. Almost immediately her presence calmed him. He relaxed slightly, and didn’t feel like running away from her. For a moment he remembered that he wanted to find Jemma Simmons, but he decided it would be worth it to stay and talk to this woman. He couldn’t provide any logic as to why he wanted to talk to her, he just acted on impulse. It was like the entire room stopped when he saw her. What he didn’t know is that he already found Jemma Simmons.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Holden smiling widely. It was like seeing this woman made everything better. It wasn’t until he looked back at her that he saw her shifting on her feet, obviously feeling awkward.

“Hello Mr. Fitz, I’m a biochemist who was invited here tonight under very odd circumstances. I know you probably get people like me all the time, but I wanted to discuss with you the effects of dendrotoxin in a weapon. I’m no engineer but—“, she started speaking and he felt more comfortable than he did with any other guests. Like he had heard her speak a thousand times before. He saw how anxious she was the moment she started speaking and tried to make her feel better, probably by making her feel worse.

“Yea,” he almost stopped there but kept going at her lost expression, “I would love to. You seem very smart. And biochem and engineering can pair up really well. I’ve never though of dendrotoxin as a weapon though, seeing as it can be harmful.”

She smiled when as he replied, nodding along the entire time. “Well, I accidentally found out that just the right amount can knock a person unconscious for a substantial amount of time, which could be very useful for combat or even self defense.”

“Right, it wouldn’t harm the person so,”

“It could just disable them long enough for someone to get help if necessary,” she finished off.

They didn’t know the long conversation they would be engulfed in. He ended up drawing sketches on a napkin while she worked on the chemical doses mentally. They worked so good together. The idea came so easily to them, it was crazy that neither of them had done it already. But when he spoke to her, it was like everything else disappeared. He could see other guests frustrated with his fascination with her, but he didn’t care. Holden wasn’t mad, he still looked thrilled. It was a good thing Alistair wasn’t there.

He eventually had to speak to the crowd as a whole, but he was looking at her the entire time. He saw two other people walk over to her, but she was nodding her head at his speech every other time he looked over to her. One of the other people looked vaguely familiar, and he briefly remembered speaking to him at some point. It was probably how the woman got her tickets. He forgot all about Jemma Simmons. Whoever it was, this woman was much more interesting. He hurried through the speech, just wanting to get back to talking to her. It occurred to him that he didn’t even know her name. He made a brief mental note to ask, but it didn’t even seem that important. At the end of the short speech Radcliffe welcomed questions as always. Leo had always hated that part the most, but he was still just looking at the woman.

Somebody asked a question, but he didn’t even hear. He was looking at the woman, trying to read something she was mouthing. It wasn’t until Radcliffe tapped his shoulder that he came back to the current situation. He looked forward, seeing a bunch of confused faces.

“Sorry, can you say that again,” he asked in an attempt to be as polite as he could.

“What do you have to say about the rumors of you being affiliated with Hydra,” was the question. How did he miss that the first time? He completely froze, feeling himself grip the microphone harder. Holden patted his back, but he hardly noticed. His eyes flicked over to the woman, who’s smile was disappearing. The moment they started talked he noticed her distaste for Hydra. He didn’t want to let her down, and he wanted to tell her the truth. Then his eyes landed on the multiple Hydra agents in the room. One of them, the Skye girl, was standing very close to the woman. The agent looked mortified. He didn’t want people to die. But he would not lie to the public. He may not like addressing the media, but they already had a bad enough image of him. He wouldn’t make it worse. He didn’t want a massacre, but he didn’t want to spread false information.

“I’m not Hydra.” he didn’t know that his knuckles were turning white from how hard he was gripping the microphone. He slammed it into Holden’s chest and walked off of the stage. When he looked back to the woman, she was gone.

He missed his chance. He found someone who could keep up a conversation with him. Somebody who’s IQ was just as high as his, if not higher. Someone who understood all of his gibberish. And she ran as soon as she got the chance. He didn’t blame her, he would too. She probably had more important things to deal with than watching him panic the minute Hydra is mentioned.

He walked off, beginning towards the hallways outside of the large event room. His head was down and he could hear Holden trying to clean up his mess. Leo was unsuccessfully trying to calm himself down. He nearly ran into someone standing right in front of the hallway. There she was, smiling softly.

He couldn’t even speak. He was so embarrassed. He had just made a fool of herself, and she hadn’t even stayed to watch.

“So, you’re not Hydra?”, she asked. She was obviously nervous, but she had a small smile on her face. 

“No, never.”, he rushed to say. He saw how she immediately calmed down. Her hair was messed up, like she had ran there.

“What is your name?”, he asked. He never found out. Her head flew up and her hand went straight to her forehead. 

“I’m so sorry, that never even occurred to me.”

“Oh, you’re fine.”, he told her easily.

“Jemma Simmons.”

He was speechless. His eyes must have widened because she cocked her head to the side. She was Jemma Simmons. The name he had spent so much time focused on happened to be the only person who ever understood every word he said. She was perfect, and he felt like he could say anything around her. As soon as he met her he forgot all about finding Jemma Simmons. Because, somehow, he already had.

Her forehead was wrinkled, but her smile stayed. He was staring at her in complete shock, so he didn’t blame her for the confusion. “Sorry, it’s just, I spent hours hooked up on the name Jemma Simmons as soon as I saw it on the guest list. I planned to find this Jemma Simmons but forgot about it as soon as I met you. And you are Jemma Simmons.”, the words just fell out of his mouth.

“Wow. I’m flattered.”, she laughed, “Well I’ve been hooked up on Leopold Fitz ever since I saw him in a magazine when I was 17 so I guess you aren’t the only one.” Both of them stared at each other, shocked. 

They didn’t see the girl standing in the corner, smiling for the first time in days. They didn’t see how she almost cried, and they certainly did not see her Hydra badge. She had a little bit of hope. Maybe they would get each other to remember. They both seemed so much happier the minute they were together. 

——

Several more hours had passed and the large room was almost empty. Jemma knew she had to leave soon, but her and Fitz were in such a good conversation. She saw Bobbi and Hunter leave awhile before, obviously bored. She was trying to tell herself that she had to leave, but she didn’t see a reason that she had to. Of course they both needed to leave so they could sleep. But she was having such a good time. Her birthday was definitely a success, and so much better than having a lazy day would have been. 

She didn’t know why she had insisted on calling him by his last name. It just kind of slipped out of her mouth. Before she met him she never felt comfortable calling a celebrity by his first name, it was just too personal. It may have just been habit at this point. He didn’t seem to mind, or even notice.

Somebody else that she recognized walked over after another small while. Holden Radcliffe. She wanted to roll her eyes, but held off. Fitz seemed so kind to him. If such a nice person could like someone who she had convinced herself was awful then maybe it was a superstition like Bobbi always said. Of course Bobbi didn’t really care, so Jemma never listened to her opinion.

Mr. Radcliffe actually seemed decent after she spoke to him. He wasn’t especially kind, but he was fun to be around. He was still unsettling, but she was beginning to convince herself that Bobbi was right. There was no reason to feel so uncomfortable.

Her and Fitz exchanged numbers. Her, Jemma Simmons, a biochemist, had Leopold Fitz’s number in her phone. How was that even possible? She wanted to tell herself that it isn’t, but she was staring at the contact in her phone. 

It was still sprinkling outside, but she didn’t mind. Fitz had offered to get her a ride home but she politely declined, seeing as she hated taking peoples money. He practically insisted, but she walked out the door before the car got there. She felt a little bad, but was mostly just scared to get in the car with a millionaire. She wasn’t scared of Fitz. She was more at ease with him than she felt most of the time. Yet, a part of her still reminded herself to be cautious.

It was a short walk back to her hotel. She was happy. It’s not as if she was never happy, it is just that nothing ever made her _this_ happy. If Bobbi saw her she would be reeling. It was dark out however, and she hated walking alone in the dark. Especially when she wasn’t in her own neighborhood. She stayed close to the buildings and rushed down the sidewalk, stepping into puddles.

Once she got back into her room she planned to email her editor. Finding out his opinion on her book was the most important thing to her. She had spent over a year trying to perfect it. She could make it much better if she could just get into a lab and do whatever she pleased, but she couldn’t afford that. She was used to the reality of her financial situation, but it didn’t mean she liked it. And her job as a cashier wasn’t going too good, either.

She didn’t even change out of her slightly wet clothes before running to her laptop. She threw her bag across the room and forced it open. She was about to check her email when someone knocked on the door. She didn’t even flinch, just glared at the door. Bobbi and Hunter were probably drunk and couldn’t drive. Jemma rolled her eyes and dragged herself towards the door, just wanting to check her email.

She opened it quickly and was shocked that it wasn’t Bobbi and Hunter. It was the woman from earlier. She took a deep breath and backed up. The woman walked in, holding her hands out apologetically. Jemma was looking for her bag so that she could call someone, but it was under the chair in the corner.

“Look, I know you’re scared-“, the woman started to speak but Jemma really didn’t feel like having the same conversation again.“I don’t care, okay. Get some help.”

“No, no! This is different. I don’t care if you remember. I need your help for this. It’s important. And I actually need part of you to know that,” the woman told her.

“What do you want,” Jemma pressed.

“Fitz is in trouble.”

It was like a switch. She didn’t remember everything, and Daisy knew that. She may not remember anything, but there would always be an urge in Jemma Simmons to save Fitz. No matter what world she was in, she would always want to save him. She’d never knowingly allow any harm to come to him. 

The minute Daisy said those words Jemma stepped away from the wall. The fear that had been there seconds earlier was gone, and her eyes had a different look to them. Determination. Daisy knew she was going to have the help she needed. Jemma knew she would do everything she could to save Leopold Fitz, even if she had just met him. She may not know why, but she didn’t question her judgement for even a second.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Years! This year is the last year we'll be getting aos content :(


	5. So Tired of This Stagnant Place That I've Been Living In, Don't Know How It Happened but I'm Wearing Thin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our agents are in need of a rescue, luckily there are two people who are very willing to make it happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter name is from Bea Miller's song, Repercussions. I know it's long but it felt so perfect for Jemma's POV.

Daisy was already on her way to Jemma’s hotel when she got the call. She didn’t know what to say or do, but she had nowhere else to go except for back to her apartment in America. And going all the way back was not an option. She almost forgot that Hydra had some plan for the event. Almost. 

She assumed it didn’t get carried out, or it did in some minor way. As if they just recruited new agents. She didn’t realize they were still waiting to give the call. So when she did get the call, she panicked. Especially with what they wanted her and other agents to do.

They had other agents capturing and subduing Leopold Fitz. They planned to mind control him into working for Hydra. She knew they would use Daniel Whitehall’s method. Bakshi was probably behind it, too. Daisy didn’t know how they could mind control him while he was technically already brainwashed in the framework, but anything seemed possible at that point. It became evident to her how important it was to get Jemma to remember. 

Once she answered the call and lied saying she was nowhere in vicinity she sprinted the rest of the way to the hotel. She really needed a terrigen crystal to give back her powers. She was confident they had some in Hydra’s labs, but she wasn’t at the triskelion and couldn’t do anything yet. Jemma would hopefully help with that. She wasn’t sure how she would get back to the triskelion without being killed after breaking Fitz out, but she would find a way. Or Jemma would. If Jemma agreed. Daisy just hoped she would want to keep Fitz safe, even if she had no memory of all of their time together.

Daisy was relieved when she saw that Jemma’s phone was across the room so she couldn’t call the police, but she was even more relieved when Jemma practically agreed to help her. She didn’t say it verbally, but her entire demeanor changed in seconds. All it took was four words, ‘Fitz is in trouble.’ Daisy should have known it would be easy, but she had lost almost all hope. Jemma immediately walked out with her. She didn’t ask questions, just went with her. She was strangely silent. Daisy was silently hoping it was her trying to sort through memories, but she wasn’t going to poke the bear. 

She finally asked what was happening when they got into the car. Daisy was reporting back that she was on the way, and Jemma was obviously uncomfortable. Daisy didn’t want to make her discomfort worse, but she had no other choice. She handed Jemma the gun that was in the vehicle.

“What do I need this for?”, she asked.

“Just protection,” Daisy replied. Jemma obviously didn’t remember her, or any of their time in the field. Maybe she didn’t remember anything. But she came, for one reason or another. 

Daisy was careful with her next words, “Why did you come with me?”, it was a simple question with a not-so-simple answer. Jemma took awhile to respond.

“I don’t know. I want to save Fitz, and I’m actually not scared. For once,” her words were almost angry, but not at Daisy. Her anger seemed to be aimed at herself. Daisy had no idea why.   
The drive was otherwise silent, and the Hydra vehicle had no option for the radio because it would distract them. The silence made both girls uneasy, but they had no choice. Daisy did not want to rock the boat with Jemma, she couldn’t jeopardize the fact that she actually came with her. She almost seemed to be regretting her decision, but it was too late for her to back out. Hopefully some action would wake her up, if she wasn’t already awake. 

They arrived back at the event quickly. Daisy circled around a couple of times so that her lie made sense.

“How exactly is Fitz in trouble,” Jemma asked. Daisy hadn’t expected the question. She wasn’t sure why, it wasn’t like Jemma would just run in without knowing what was going on.

“You won’t believe me.”

“I followed a woman I just met to save a man I just met even when every instinct in my body told me not to. I’ll believe almost anything at this point,” Jemma said sternly. She had a point. Daisy decided to listen to her. She probably wouldn’t believe all of the crazy things that had happened in the real world, but she would hopefully remember them soon enough so that she didn’t have to believe it. She would just have to think. 

“They want to mind control him to work for Hydra,” Daisy said quickly. It wasn’t believable in the slightest, so she had to hope that Jemma really meant she would believe anything. When Daisy looked over to the other girl, she was just sitting there. She was staring out the window, blankly. Daisy could only hope she was remembering something, anything. She was holding onto the seat as if she was about to go flying out. Jemma noticed Daisy staring and let go of the seat, forcing a smile.

“Okay. I’ll… help you. Find him. Or save him, or whatever you need.”

That was all she said. They were pulling into the parking garage below the hotel, and they didn’t say another word. Daisy avoided paying by showing her Hydra badge. Her comm was being blown up by other agents, apparently they needed her help. She couldn’t imagine Fitz fought back. Radcliffe probably told him it was for the best or some other manipulation, just like he had done in the real world. Once they saved Fitz Daisy had plans to speak to Radcliffe, but only if they had time. Her main concern was saving Fitz. Mind controlling someone who was already being mind controlled in a sense had to have some negative effect. She was just thankful she had Jemma. And even more thankful that she was willing to help, at any cost it seemed.

Daisy quickly realized that she couldn’t walk in with Jemma. The other agents would question her motives, so they would have to sneak in. Meaning she would have to keep her cover of not being there a little longer. And her cover would be blown the minute her and Jemma walk in there and start shooting agents. Fitz will probably be panicked, so she had to take that into consideration as well. He could also be in the process of being brainwashed, which didn’t make things easy. She knew what that looked like and it was not fun. Bakshi could be in there, too. The odds were against them getting Fitz and making it out alive and free, but they had to try. 

Jemma could barely keep up with her. She didn’t remember anything, she just knew she had this urge to keep Fitz safe. Daisy tried to simplify it as much as possible, but that wasn’t easy. Jemma didn’t know how to fight, talk her way out of something, or comprehend Daisy’s plan. According to Daisy she was a scared little girl who knew a lot about science.

They hurried in, avoiding the elevator. Daisy saw multiple agents entering it and ran to the stairs before they could see her. Jemma was following her lead. She looked like a sad lost puppy. The weapon was concealed in her jacket, and she was obviously not happy about having it at all. They walked slowly to avoid being too loud on the metal stairs. Daisy had been told exactly where Fitz was being held.

They were running up and someone spoke on Daisy’s comm. Daisy froze, leaving Jemma to continue rushing up the stairs for a moment before noticing. Daisy’s eyes were wide and she looked horrified.

“Hey, what’s happening,” Jemma asked, seeming genuinely worried.

“May. May’s here. I know you don’t remember her but we don’t stand a chance if she’s here,” she had gotten up and ran to where Jemma was standing. Their entire plan was going to fail. There was no way she could fight May without her powers. She had seen May take out whole squads of people ten times stronger than her. Jemma was practically useless in combat, so there was no way Daisy could fight May alone. She had no idea what to do.

Their entire plan was falling apart. But they still decided to go on, because they were agents. They had to go on and save their friends from this world. In that moment, the first way to save them was to save Fitz. She needed someone to wake up. She would kill for an I.C.E.R. at that moment to be able to knock out May, but there was no way. Maybe they could have made one somehow, but they didn’t have time. She also didn’t know that the best and strongest agent in the real world (and probably the virtual hellhole they were trapped in, too) would be there. If Daisy had known May was there she wouldn’t have brought Jemma, as useful as it might be having her there. Hopefully seeing Fitz in whatever torture machine to keep him in place for brainwashing would wake her up.

Once Jemma saw how rattled Daisy was she obviously got more nervous. She stopped trying to hide it the moment they got into the stairwell. They had to get up to the top floor, which was a lot higher up than it seemed. Jemma was in heels, which made it difficult for her to climb the steep stairs for so long. 

They finally got up to the top floor. Daisy peeked around the corner, seeing agents guarding a specific door. She looked at Jemma and nodded, trying to calm her down. Fitz was definitely in that room. They couldn’t have been doing the procedure for too long, and she knew it could take days to get it to work.

She put her hands out in a way that told Jemma to stay where she was and walked into the hall.

“Hey guys,” Daisy announced to the two agents. Before they could even get a word out she shot them both and signaled for Jemma to come out. She walked out, her hand close to the weapon in her jacket. Daisy nodded at her again, waiting for agents to poke their heads out of the room to see why they heard gunshot. Jemma refrained from looking at the bodies. Daisy knew she hated to see death, and it appeared the same here. Even if they were fake virtual Hydra agents.

The door opened and Daisy pulled the agent out, shooting him. She pushed him aside and pulled Jemma into the room.

“Agent Johnson,” Sunil Bakshi exclaimed, “What is the meaning of this?”

Daisy was disgusted at the sight of him. 

“And who is this woman,” he asked, referring to Jemma.

“Oh, she’s, um, oh I have no idea.”

Daisy didn’t even try to lie. She shot him right there and walked further into the room. She saw Fitz, with tape to keep his eyes open. He was tied to the chair and staring at the same awful screen Daisy had seen before. Before she could get a word out she heard Jemma call out his name. Jemma ran beside her and began to free him. Daisy wanted to smile at Jemma’s instinctive reaction but heard voices on the end of her comm shouting orders. She began to push the dresser towards the door, to at least give them a short extra moment of time. 

As she was pushing it over an agent leaped out of the bathroom and grabbed at her. He immediately managed to get her weapon and throw it across the room. Panic shot through Daisy and she didn’t know what to do. Neither Jemma or Fitz had combat training to help her and this man was a lot stronger than her. She lost hold of her weapon when she tried to quake him, forgetting she didn’t have her powers.

He was attempting to choke her and the small space limited her ability to break free. When she did try she ended up smashing into the dresser which ended up with him just grabbing at her again. Daisy sat up onto the dresser and tried to kick him. He was about to put her into a chokehold again when someone fired a gunshot and he fell down. At first Daisy thought it might’ve been from someone on the other side of the door, but there was no hole. Daisy looked at the other side of the room where Jemma sat holding the gun she gave her at them. Fitz was right beside her, looking disheveled and confused beyond relief.

Once Jemma realized what she did she threw the gun on the ground, kicking it away. Her face was horrified and her hands were shaking. Before Daisy had time to react she heard shouting from the other side of the door. They had to get out, and their only exit was blocked.

She ran over to the window, looking out. There was a pool outside. It wouldn’t be the first time she jumped into a pool from a high place. She could easily break the window with her powers, but she didn’t have them. She grabbed a lamp and smacked it into the window. The lamp didn’t even make a dent. Fitzsimmons looked confused but seemed to understand the situation. Jemma went over and picked back up the gun that had been thrown on the ground. 

“Daisy,” she said loudly. Daisy turned around and looked at Jemma, who tossed the gun to her. She smiled at her friend, who seemed to be remembering her. She backed up and shot the window. It went straight through, and cracked the area around it. So she shot the window several more times. After a couple of times the window shattered. Daisy smiled and pushed the glass off of the small window sill. They were pretty high up, but the jump shouldn’t hurt them.

When Jemma understood what Daisy wanted them to do she opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.

“I am not jumping out of a window,” Fitz proclaimed. Right after he said it they heard banging on the door.  
“It’s jump into the pool or be brainwashed.”

Daisy was going to go last so that her friends would actually do it. Jemma went first, for some odd reason. She screamed loud enough that people blocks away probably heard as she dropped into the pool. Her and Fitz both agreed that they hated swimming. Daisy had a feeling that had something to do with being dropped to the bottom of the ocean. When Fitz jumped he was mostly silent. He jumped short and landed very close to the edge of the pool, scaring Daisy half to death. 

Right before Daisy jumped the door bursted open, with half a dozen agents storming in. Right in the front was May. Daisy glared at her as she stood on the window sill.

“May, I need you to remember me,” she said as she jumped into the cold water below. Jemma and Fitz helped her out and they all ran out of the premises, knowing agents would be following.

Fitz obviously had no recollection of the real world, yet. Jemma was strangely silent. They couldn’t take Daisy’s car because she had a feeling they could track it. Walking all the way back was risky, but it was a short walk. Fitz’s car was so high end it would be recognized immediately. They ran the whole way back. Jemma at some point discarded her shoes and was running barefoot. The night air and dewiness made it much colder out than it was during daytime, so they were all freezing. The fact that they were soaking wet didn’t help.

They ran into the hotel, trying to be as discreet as possible. They hurried into the elevator, hoping no one would walk in. For what seemed like the first time ever they were lucky and no one walked in. 

When they got to Jemma’s floor they ran over and she opened the door. Fitz walked in and went straight to the bathroom. Jemma walked over to her bed and sat down, putting her head in her hands. She had been silent the entire walk over and refused to look at any of them. Daisy was about to speak when Fitz walked over.

“Okay, I have some questions. But I was wondering if I could use your shower first,” he asked. He was almost shy about it.

Jemma looked up and practically jumped back. She was breathing rapidly and sweating. After a moment she slowly nodded. She was gripping the blanket tightly, and Daisy saw her eyes water before she put her head back down. Fitz walked back into the bathroom.

“Jemma?”

She was silent for a moment. Daisy wasn’t quite sure what was happening, but her friend was freaking out.

“You need a terrigen crystal,” was all she said. Her voice was rough but her breathing had calmed down.

“What? Wait—you remember,” Daisy asked. She stood back up as she said it, smiling at her friend.

“Yes. Everything. Including those lifelike LMD’s.” Jemma told her.

Daisy immediately felt sympathy for her friend. She had to stab Fitz’s LMD and had a hard time convincing herself it wasn’t him. Daisy should’ve known she would have a reaction like this, and she couldn’t blame her. She sat back down next to her friend.

“We need to get out. How?”

“I have no idea, I thought I’d start with you and Fitz,” was all Daisy had to say. She was happy her friend was back. Maybe they had a chance to get out of the virtual hellhole they were trapped in, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter might take a little longer to get out, so I apologize for that!


End file.
